In which trek reviews Changes

In a loving outpouring of selfless spousal generosity, I graciously allowed Number Guy read our copy of Changesfirst.

No, it didn't have anything at all to do with the fact that my TBR pile is taller than the Neatnik. It's just that I am an all-around good egg who has a stout heart and good spirit.

Besides, he snatched the book out of my hands, citing the teetering, wobbling stack of books in the living room and the fact that he didn't have anything new to read.

And I was the one who introduced him to Harry Dresden's universe in the first place.

There is no justice.

Reviews that are loaded with (somewhat) apologetic spoilers get on my nerves so this will not be one of those types of reviews.

This one will have one very unapologetic spoiler about the book's ending and it will be at the end of this post so if you are planning to read Changes and do not like the plots and endings spoiled for you, stop reading now. Close your browser and walk away from the computer.

You have been warned.

# # #

All-righty, then. I shall now assume that those of you who remain

(a) have already read the book and are looking for a comment space to vent;
(b) love spoilers for their own sake;
(c) aren't planning to read the book at all but like to be "in the know" for discussions around the water cooler; or
(d) subscribe to any and all combinations of (a) through (c).

Oh, all right. For those who want the little spoilers but not the bigger ones, just read the text in your browser. For those who have read the book already or want the spoilers, use the clickies at your own risk.

First let me say that I have read every novel in the Harry Dresden series and every short story as well. I'm not into graphic novels nor did I like the one bit of a single episode of the television series I accidentally caught. I have a pretty good idea of how Harry operates and am very familiar with Jim Butcher's style.

This may be Jim's best book to date. It is crammed full of character development and new character introductions, hence the very appropriate title. A tremendous amount of Harry's history is explained - to him as well as to the reader - and several main characters demonstrate previously unseen talents.

Somewhere in the Great Swampy Middle, I decided that Jim had taken leave of his senses entirely and became very angry with him for pushing Harry onto a path which Chicago's only wizard had repeatedly refused to tread. In all fairness, Warden Dresden had pretty much exhausted his list of options and this particular choice plays heavily in the action which follows.

Enough said about that plot twist.

As the plot develops and the action races towards its climax, I was left wondering why we hadn't heard at all from a couple of sources. The absence of the first one is much more understandable than the absence of the second, in my opinion. Why were they left behind? Along the same lines, what was you-know-who doing during the first half of the final battle, Jim?

Aside from those complaints, I liked Changes. Murder and mayhem, deceit and destruction, love and loyalty, hope and honor? What more could a reader ask to have?

Except maybe to be left at the end of the book without the feeling that they just heard once more those infamous words, "Mister Worf... fire!"??

SEBP

I just realized that is has been nearly a week since I posted so here's the Sunday Evening Bullet Post.

• This past week was very busy what with First Holy Communion practices every day and whatnot.



• All of that practicing paid off: yesterday, Neatnik joined the ranks of the big kids: she made her First Holy Communion.



• The kids sang their two favorite hymns.



• Of course, I cried.



• Bobblehead participated in the same milestone event, albeit somewhat later in the morning and at a different parish.



• We celebrated Bobblehead yesterday and Neatnik today.



• How nice of weekends to be two days long: each cousin got her *own* day.



• TazzMom gave Neatnik a previously-loved American Girl doll.



• Neantik is babbling at me eighty miles an hour about how cool this doll is and how many doll clothes we already have which will fit Kit.



• My ears are tired.



• Since we had a bit of treat-type carbs early in the day, I am now jonesing for some serious treatage.



• I walked about 49 miles last week.



• I think I am entitled to a bit of extra treatage today, don't you think?



• My adopted students turned in their take home tests on Thursday night. I made a first pass at them late this afternoon whilst Number Guy read Changes and Neatnik and Bobblehead pounded around upstairs.



• At one point, I decided that I needed to email myself something to my college account. So, I opened up my home email account and I am rather glad that I did.



• Number Guy's mom was in a minor car accident last night. Our sister-in-law couldn't locate our home phone number and email was the fastest way to broadcast the information to everyone.



• OutOfState Grandma is okay but she doesn't know why she was in the car in the first place nor where she was going.



• Sadly, this is exactly how my grandmother's condition progressed.



• Say a prayer, okay?



• Maybe even two?

Time for me to be available for the evening round up. Hope everyone had a restful weekend and I shall try to post a couple of times this week.

Missing the point

Some of my newly adopted students seem to be settling in and adjusting to the inevitable changes and revised class requirements. Others? Not so much...

From: professor trek
Posted To: Class Bulletin Board
========================================
The take home test which was distributed in class last night is due at the next class meeting.

# # #

I received the following email within minutes seconds of my post regarding the take home test.

# # #

To: professor trek
From: Student Missing Class
========================================
I couldnt make the last class can you please send me a copy of the test

# # #

Apparently, punctuation is entirely optional. Class attendance, however, is not. I noted as well that no reason nor excuse for his absence was offered.

I do not recall ever blowing off mandatory classes when I was student - graduate or undergraduate. If I was supposed to be in class, you can be sure my butt was firmly planted in one of those terribly uncomfortable plastic seats. I remember taking my physics final nearly delirious with a raging fever and barfing up dinner in the middle of my biology final. Seems that SMC does not subscribe to the same class attendance ethic as I.

Tough cookies, dude.

# # #

To: SMC
From: prof trek
========================================
No.

# # #

Ooh, I channeled my inner Carl on that one!

# # #

To: prof trek
From: SMC
========================================
Umm can I get a copy of the test this next class and hand it in the following week?

# # #

Punctuation is slightly improved, although there still seems to be an irrational avoidance of the highly useful and user-friendly comma. Still no reason nor excuse for his absence provided.

# # #

To: SMC
From: prof trek
========================================
Yes.

# # #

Laconic answers are much better than the knee-jerk tirade I thought in the privacy of my own grey matter.

# # #

To: prof trek
From: SMC
========================================
OK thanks, i will see you next class.

# # #

Punctuation markedly improved but at the price of loss of ability to capitalize pronouns properly.

# # #

Not holding my breath on this one.

In which trek waits

We here at chez trek capped off an amazingly hectic week with a frenetic weekend. The upcoming week and weekend combination doesn't look to be any less hectic, but I really needed to carve out enough time to catch up on life so here it goes.

Let me tell you about the weekend first - this will explain why I didn't have time to update everyone on the first meeting my my new class on Thursday...

Friday night was supposed to be a time to kick back with some friends and relax. We did visit and we did hang out and chat and munch and such but we also ended up doing a round of teen-delivery helping along the way so it ended up being a very late night by the time we got Neatnik home and everyone showered and snoozing.

Saturday was the day of Neatnik's school's big gift auction fundraiser. The dads get up in the middle of the night to set up the ballroom with all the gift baskets. A few boxes of joe help them to avoid dropping any televisions or delicate pieces of furniture. Couple of hours later and they are all ready to return to the land of nod but they cannot: the moms are all ready to depart for the actual event so the dads are all in charge of the offspring for the rest of the daylight hours.

There was one item that Neatnik really wanted and only one item that I was really interested in winning. These were an American Girl doll and a Nook, respectively. I put my tickets in the appropriately labeled buckets and waited to win.

I'm still waiting.

Without sounding like I'm whining, my report on the day is not a pretty one: our food was all served last and cold; my chicken was a strip of dried out shoe leather and the woman to my left had uncooked bird on her plate; the dessert was leaning towards stale by the time it reached our table (last, again) and our platter of fancy cookies was stolen by another table; and I didn't win a thing. Not even the pretty floral centerpiece.

The Brownie troop had tickets for a musical. Curtain was 8 o'clock. I dutifully brought Neatnik. We had to park about three blocks away from the theater in an iffy neighborhood, but we walked down the middle of the street, trying to step in the weak pools of light cast by the street lamps.

Neatnik enjoyed the production but, in the interest of finding our way home in one piece each, we had to leave before final curtain. I think I dislocated my jaw on a couple of those yawns and Neatnik did not protest her own little tired state at all.

We overslept the earliest masses this morning, but that's okay because we were up early enough to read and relax a little while before zipping over to the church for the 11 o'clock mass. An hour later, we walked to the parking lot where I noticed that the minivan was suffering a decided list to the left. We had a flat.

I called roadside assistance. I had one flat tire previously with this vehicle and I knew full well that I could not loosen the lug nuts. Number Guy decided to try his luck. Good thing we have the roadside rider on our insurance policy: Number Guy actually bent the freaking lug wrench and the lug nut did not turn a millimeter.

When he arrived, the tow truck guy whipped out a much more muscular and manly lug wrench and attacked the wheel. This is a fellow who fixes flats every single day and I thought he popped a hernia. Seriously, this guy doubled over after yanking on the wrench that wouldn't budge. Eventually, between him and Number Guy, they got the nuts off and the flat swapped out in favor of the spare.

I slipped the guy ten bucks and an apology then we three piled back into the van to go to the Tire Fixy Place. We were told the repair would take half an hour. An hour later, we were still waiting...

We finally returned home at about ten after two. Just enough time to feed Neatnik a snack and race up the highway for a high school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It was really well done, everyone had a good time, we supported a local school, and for ten bucks, you couldn't beat the price. We knew a few kids in the cast and crew and it was great to see what a fine performance they could provide. After shuttling one of said teenagers home, we swung by the grocery store for some victuals and then came home for the night.

I'd say that I'd like to have a do-over but with the exception of today's musical entertainment, I really don't think I would be interested in repeating any of the events of this weekend.

Anyway, all of that stress and struggle and strife is why I didn't report on Thursday's class meeting sooner...

# # #

After many looooong hours of preparation, I finally met my students this past Thursday evening. Well, to be precise, I met some of my new students. There are seventeen on the official class roster and a whopping seven of them were on time. All in all, I met almost two-thirds of my newly adopted adolescents. I was the only estrogen-producing individual in the room. An odd feeling, that.

Ahem.

The previous instructor had scheduled an exam but then, on his last night with them, told them that he didn't know if the new instructor was going to give them a test. Way to ensure that they won't crack open a book, dude! Yes, he really did say that: I saw the post on the class web site.

I really didn't know how much was covered. The former professor advised me that he'd covered arrays and that the students should be ready for a test on them but seeing as how he gave them such a convenient study excuse... So, no exam on Thursday evening; instead, I wrote up a take home test.

Yep, a take home test, designed specifically to evaluate (1) how much they know and (2) how willing they are to do a little research. The questions are pretty straight-forward and, honestly, pretty easy. I came up with five short answer questions for four points each and four programming code questions worth twenty points apiece. I even tacked on a bonus question on the last page.

I was hoping that I could simply do a quick review of array declarations and array processing and then move on to classes and object oriented programming but, alas, it was not to be. No idea how the old instructor ran class nor how quickly he moved through the material but when I mentioned a simple swap routing and traversing an array, all I got was nearly a dozen glassy-eyed blank stares. Back to the drawing board, as it were. I retaught arrays and looping, making sure to cover all of the topics which I had included on the take home examination.

Sure is a good thing that the department chair has given me a free rein for the remainder of my time with my new kids. I've pretty much decided to scrap everything which has come before now and to give every student a clean slate and a chance to improve their class standing.

Believe me, they need all the help they can get, especially the front row student who wondered if he could turn in all of the late programming assignments at the end of the semester.

Then there was the student from the back row who asked if he could surf the web during class...

WNBP-TPE

Wednesday Night Bullet Post - The Panic Edition

• Yep, this is The Panic Edition.



• I am scheduled to meet my newly adopted programming students tomorrow evening and I have still not finished all the preparation I need to do.



• For anyone who is counting, there are less than twenty-one hours between now and the start of that 2 hour, 45 minute class.



• I'd say that this is an appropriate time for panic.



• Why put off panicking until the last minute, I always say.



• Did I mention that I still have to prepare for my regular Friday morning students?



• Uh, huh.



• All semester long, I have been finishing my Friday/Monday preparation on Thursday evenings while Number Guy is at band practice.



• I kind of forgot about that Thursday evening utilization when I accepted the invitation to take on this programming class for remainder of the semester.



• Perhaps I should note that I haven't previously taught this class.



• Finished eleven of the twelve programming assignments in the adoption papers.



• One of them was so dead-easy that I re-read the assignment three times to be certain that I did not miss something totally obvious.



• I did not.



• The attendance records and other administrative stuff I received from the previous instructor is somewhat sketchy.



• At best.



• Sort of wondering what exactly he covered and how.



• I fear for my new students: their first exam grades made abysmal look like a step in the upward direction.



• At least I will be getting paid by the class, right?



• I wonder if the Powers That Be over at the college would care or even notice if I simply slung a universal coating of B+s around the room and called it "good".



• This here blog post and associated visit to the interwebs is my study break.



• Sometimes you really must have a break.



• Speaking of taking breaks, I tried to take a treat break earlier. I have been jonesing for a slice of cheesecake for two full days. Number Guy brought me home a slice from the local diner after dinner tonight.



• There I was, fork in hand, book at my elbow. I dipped my silvery tines into the creamy slice on my plate and sampled, expecting angels to serenade my taste buds in joyous celebration.



• This was the worst piece of cheesecake I've ever had on my plate.



• Tasted like the person who packed it up for take-out handled it with some sort of cleaning fluid on their hands.



• Wasn't just me: both Number Guy and Neatnik confirmed.



• Called the diner to complain. They promised a credit but Number Guy had to leave for a meeting. Tossed the "cheesecake" into the kitchen trash.



• Still craving.



• Laboring under a humongous hankering for cheesecake is not conducive to completion of classroom preparation...

That's about where I am here at the middle of the week. This blog post took 29 minutes out of my class preparation and I really must get back to it. Wish me luck over the next twenty-four hours: I'm going to need it.

So will my newly adopted students.

In defense

I realized this morning, as I was en route to the college campus wherein lie the Halls of Higher Education that my blog, like my knitting, has been sadly neglected recently. This did not come as any sort of surprise, mind you: I get an email bright and early every morning with my site statistics enclosed. If the dwindling number of site and page visits wasn't enough to tell me of the lack of posting on my part, the lack of comment emails on your part confirmed it - trek's been a bad blogger.

What can I say in my defense?

I could tell you about how Neatnik tripped and cut open her knee on the curb last Wednesday and how blood spurted and gushed all over her leg and the pavement and how we had to walk almost half a mile to get back home again in order to cleanse and bandage the open gaping wound. Then I could tell you about how it hurt so much that we were unable to take any walks for the remainder of her Easter vacation. I could wrap up by telling you how the doctor said that she chipped her patella and damaged her meniscus and how we have surgery scheduled for next Thursday morning.

It's all true except for that last bit about the knicked knee cap and mangled meniscus, but that's the part that adds drama to the story.

I could remind you about how one of the other adjuncts who got a new full-time job and cannot complete the semester and how I am taking over his programming class with only four weeks remaining in the semester. Then I could tell you about how it was like pulling teeth to get this guy to send me grades and attendance records and how only one student passed the first exam. I could wrap up by telling you how he scheduled an exam for Thursday night, which is the first day I will meet the students and that I still do not have access to the official class roster due to the dean's assistant's absences which are due to said assistant having to deal with an ailing and aged parent.

Absolutely all of that is true. More's the pity. I have postponed any testing and am seriously considering a take-home or buddy-system or open-book sort of examination. It seems that this crop of programming students has issues. Lots of issues.

If anyone is looking for me, I am ensconced with my trusty notebook, busily cramming eleven weeks of preparation work into the next two days.

In which trek saves 72.56%

Major sale at Old Navy yesterday...

Original Prices:
Tank workout top with shelf-bra: $16.50
Long-sleeved workout top: $16.50
Four short-sleeved fancy tops: $6.50 each
Little girl stripey footie socks: $3.00
Stripey wrapping paper: $3.00 per roll
Retail Total: $68.00

Clearance Prices: with extra 50% off at register!
Tank workout top with shelf-bra: $3.49
Long-sleeved workout top: $5.74
Four short-sleeved fancy tops: $1.49 each
Little girl stripey footie socks: $0.99
Stripey wrapping paper: $1.24 per roll
Clearance Total: $18.66

Run, don't walk, to your local mall...

In which trek reviews The Daughters of Lancaster County

I recently read the Daughters of Lancaster County series by Wanda E Brunstetter. In order, they are The Storekeeper's Daughter,The Quilter's Daughter,and The Bishop's Daughter.

Daughters of Lancaster County series

The three novels have also been re-released in a single volume.

Single volume collection

Most of this series takes place within the Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, although portions do occur in other places, such as Ohio and the Pacific Northwest.

Brunstetter gets the action started with the unsolved kidnapping of one-year old Zach Fisher and the resulting guilt and blame game between his eldest sister, Naomi, and their father, Abraham. The circumstances of little Zach's kidnapping are believable. Naomi is watching him while tending the family's road-side root beer stand when she hears a loud crash and outcry from the house. Without thinking, she dashes back to the house, fearing that her younger sisters are hurt. She leaves Zach on the picnic table with the "English" man who was buying root beer. By the time she deals with the crisis indoors and remembers that she left her brother attended by a stranger, it is too late: the man is gone and Zach with him.

This event and its aftermath forms the central plot and tension of all three volumes. The reader is taken along a twenty-year tale of pain and loss.

I did finish out the series as all three books were very fast, easy reads and I read them while I was walking and prepping meals. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in them individually and collectively.

I feel that there are major problems with the plot devices employed. A major character, engaged to be married, lost her fiancé and swore off men forever - or at least until it was convenient for the furtherance of the story. She fell in love again and lived happily ever after. Fine. Why did a second major character have to follow exactly the same path - engaged, fiancé dies, resigns herself to a life-long spinsterhood, finds a new man, and, well, you know the rest because you just read it already.

It seemed to me that the characters in this series had about the world's worst run of bad luck, too. About every time a person fell or tripped, they lost consciousness and required immediate medical attention and then there were the two shop fires - on the same street, and a variety of other major and minor catastrophes.

The third book, in particular, was very frustrating towards the end. Every time that the main male character was about to bare his soul, the conversation was conveniently hijacked by the arrival of a third person or by circumstances. The big secret remains hidden until the very end of the story when all is revealed and everyone moves on to the land of "happily ever after". While I understand that books in this genre tend towards happy endings, I found that the tying up of the loose ends was just too "pat" and tidy, just not credible.

Sadly, I don't foresee myself reading more of this author: the other series of hers which I started is pretty much written from the same boilerplate.

In which we sing

(Easter) Sunday Morning Bullet Points, now with more music!

• I don't think that I mentioned it yet on the blog, but I joined the choir at church.



• No, I am not the youngest member: one of the sopranos is a high school sophomore.



• She calls everyone Mr and Mrs.



• Yes, she graduated from Neatnik's grammar school. They are big on the politenes.



• If a parent or other adult is at the school and happens to reach a door at about the same time as a student, the student will open the door and stand in front of it to hold it open, waiting for the adult to pass through before him/her.



• Great manners.



• Also, good for the resume.



• Some of our students have gone on to exciting careers at the Waldorf-Astoria and the The Plaza.



• No, not really.



• Back to choir, we had rehearsals the past two Wednesday evenings for the Holy Week liturgies.



• I can't sing for the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper, due to the incense, but I can sing at the Good Friday liturgy.



• At the end of Wednesday's choir practice, we worked on Adoramus Te, which we were using during communion on Good Friday.



• It sounded good. Really good.



• The choir director/organist said, "That was great. You guys really nailed it."



• Oops.



• Good thing God has a sense of humor.



• The children's choir sang this morning at the nine o'clock mass.



• Our church was pretty well packed and the children sounded great.



• They really get into Join in the Dance and Lord of the Dance.



• Why, yes, we all noticed a theme here.



• It's a psalmist thing.

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter.

He is risen. Alleluia, alleluia.

Awesome authors

Thank you shout outs to all authors donating autographed books to Neatnik's school for their annual gift auction. Please, visit their web sites and consider supporting them with your book dollars.

Cozy mystery author Monica Ferris is generously providing not one, but two, autographed books. Thanks, Monica!
     Most recent title: Blackwork

Children's writer Betty G Birney is sending a signed Humphreyville book. THANKS-THANKS-THANKS, Betty!
     Most recent title: Summer According to Humphrey

Romance/chick-lit writer Debbie Macomber is sending a book and some other goodies. Thanks to Debbie, Renate, and Nancy!
     Most recent titles: Debbie's 2010 Booklist

Urban fantasy author Carrie Vaughn is sending an autographed book to the school. Thank you, Carrie!
     Most recent title: Kitty's House of Horrors

In which trek Googles Topekas

Woke up very early this morning. Needed to find some information. Already awake; figured I'd get started.

I often use Google's Topeka's search engine.

Good to know we can always Google Topeka
information on these here interwebs...

Loved it. Hope you smiled, too.